Motherwhelmed
Beth Berry
Top 10 Best Quotes
“We are meant to be deeply affected and changed by motherhood. We are meant to be softened, humbled, reshaped, repurposed, and made wiser. We’re meant to grow, heal, and transform for the good of us all and toward the mother-led consciousness we’ve been blessed with the honor of birthing.”
“Motherhood is meant to overwhelm us. It’s meant to slow us down and remind us of what matters most. It’s meant to expand us in order to make room for the children we’re (briefly) given to guide. It’s meant to reshape us into fuller, more well-rounded women. It reminds us of our interdependency, shows us where we still need to grow, and strengthens our capacity to connect from the heart.”
“What would the world look like if you and I—as the first generations of resource-rich, informed, penicillin-protected, and free mothers to have ever walked the planet—released ourselves from the burden of stories told for us and began to see ourselves for the incredibly powerful, important, worthy, and inherently beautiful beings we really are? I believe the outcome would change the course of history.”
“That fact that motherhood overwhelms us is not a sign of weakness but an indicator of importance. It distinguishes mothering as one of the few endeavors in our lifetime worthy of such an enormous and all-encompassing investment. We are similarly overwhelmed by such things as love, beauty, justice, and the pursuit of a meaningful existence. When we honor the immensity of motherhood as we do other powerful gifts—instead of resisting or trying to tame it—it changes us. Like native trees on a tropical coastline, we have the potential to grow stronger with every storm, thrive when we grow in groups, dance with the wind and waves, and draw our strength from a well deep within.”
“Right now my main frustration is feeling like I’m not contributing much to the good of the world.”
“Motherwhelm isn’t a problem, it’s a rite of passage. Once we recognize it as such and honor these intense times (and intense seasons of our lives) for the potential they have to help us get clear on what we want and what no longer serves us, we can use that intensity to our advantage. We can learn to direct our energy toward choices that create the connections, experiences, and ways of life we most deeply desire. We can learn to cultivate healthier, kinder relationships with ourselves and, in doing so, model healing and health and empowerment for generations to come.”
“We’re not struggling because we’re inadequate, because there’s not enough time, or because child-rearing standards have risen. We’re struggling because the vast majority of the stories we’re being told, adopting, making up, and forming our belief systems around are at least partially untrue, and untrue stories make for lousy foundations when it comes to building a life we love.”
“Though self-abandonment is something most people struggle with in some way or another, motherhood is a breeding ground for this insidiously self-destructive behavior. From the time children are born, their needs are intense, relentless, and literally screamed in our faces. Luckily for them (and the human race) we are biologically wired to respond to their needs, even when it means setting aside our own. While our nurturing, self-sacrificial instincts are beautiful and life preserving, they’re also a fast track to burnout, resentment, exhaustion, and destruction, if we’re not careful. It’s natural to minimize our needs in the interest of the beautiful beings we love, but it’s not natural that we’re raising our children in isolation and that the bulk of their needs are falling on one person instead of a tribe of extended family members and friends. This, and other profoundly affecting gaps within our culture, makes self-awareness and self-nurturing that much more essential. Unfortunately for some of us, it isn’t until we’re so emotionally or physically wrecked by our self-abandonment that we realize how disconnected from crucial parts of ourselves we really are.”
“This mind-set that life should be different than it is or that we should be doing more is one of the strongest, most impactful set of stories being told. Though many such perceptions feel like truths, the greater the disparity between our perception of the way life should be and the way it really is—that is, the greater the gap—the greater our overall sense of frustration, failure, and disappointment will be. Whether we’re disappointed with ourselves, those around us, or the world at large, our inner peace is compromised.”
“That something? That thing you long for way more than good chocolate or a week in the Caribbean? It’s the full, uninhibited expression of your soul. It’s the essence of who you are and why you’re here. I also believe it to be the thing that your family, and the world, needs from you most.”
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